[Irl-dean] Converting WORD Documents to DAISY Format

[Tim Culhane]

Hear, Hear Barry.

Isn't this a rather old story?  I recall a suspiciously similar  press
release  a few months back?  Is this the case of trying to get a double
scoop of good publicity?

Tim


-----Original Message-----
From: irl-dean-bounces at list.eeng.dcu.ie
[mailto:irl-dean-bounces at list.eeng.dcu.ie] On Behalf Of Barry McMullin
Sent: 28 May 2008 09:16
To: Irish Design-for-all and e-Accessibility Network
Subject: Re: [Irl-dean] Converting WORD Documents to DAISY Format



> Microsoft, DAISY Make Reading Easier for People With Print 
> Disabilities Using Office Open XML files, users of Microsoft Office 
> Word can now produce content in the world's most widely used assistive 
> technology format.

Not to rain on anybody's parade, but just to log the usual caveat
here: this is no magic solution to anything.  The quality of the exported
DAISY file is completely dependent on the quality of the markup in the
original "open xml" (i.e., MS-Word) file. Garbage in, garbage out,
unfortunately.

(Sorry if I sound a bit grouchy; there's just something about the gushing
hype in these kinds of announcements that I'm getting very weary of,
especially when I know that it is going to be immediately propagated, if not
amplified, by an essentially uninformed and uncritical media ...)

Best regards - Barry.

--
Barry McMullin, Dublin City University
   phone: +353-1-700-5432
   web: http://www.eeng.dcu.ie/~mcmullin/
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